This lasagna recipe comes from my brother-in-law, Peter, who lived in Italy for a couple of years. While I’ve made a couple of minor changes for sheer convenience, it is still the same, genuine lasagna recipe he brought home with him, and it’s the very best lasagna I’ve ever had! Do yourself a favor and make the Lasagna Sauce a day ahead of time!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Béchamel sauce
- Real butter – no substitutions!
- All-purpose flour
- Milk
- Peter’s Pasta and Lasagna Sauce – You’ll want to make a recipe of this Lasagna Sauce a day ahead of time!
- No-boil lasagna noodles
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Shredded Parmesan cheese
- Egg
- Ricotta cheese
How to Make Peter’s Lasagna
- First you’ll make the Béchamel sauce by melting some butter, whisking in some flour, and then whisking in flour until well combined. This gets heated gently until bubbly and thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- This is where I tinkered slightly with the recipe. It can be hard to layer red sauce and Beéhamel consistently. It’s all going to end up in the same place so, for sheer convenience, I simply mix them together. Set that aside.
- Next you’ll mix up some ricotta, Parmeasan, and a beaten egg.
- You’ll layer sauce, noodles, and cheese until you have 4 layers, with a layer of sauce of top. That gets topped with even more cheese, then you cover the whole thing in foil and pop it in the oven.
- When it’s done baking, you’ll pull that foil off and let the Lasagna sit for about 20 minutes. This is an important step, as it allows the sauces to thicken so they don’t ooze out when you cut into your lasagna!
Storing and Other Tips
- Store leftover lasagna, tightly covered, in the refrigerator and enjoy within 4-5 days for best results.
- You can prep this lasagna up to 24 hours in advance and bake when ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this ahead of time?
Absolutely. Assemble, wrap tightly, and store in the fridge a day ahead of time then bake when you’re ready!
Can I freeze this lasagna to bake later?
We have had readers report this works well, but your baking time will be significantly longer. I recommend freezing in a metal pan so it won’t be shocked by oven temperatures.
Peter’s Genuine Italian Lasagna
This delicious lasagna takes a bit of time to pull together but the final product is well worth it!
Servings people
Ingredients
Béchamel Sauce
- ¼ cup real butter (½ stick) NO SUBSTITUTES
- ¼ cup white flour
- 2 ½ cup milk
Other Ingredients
- 1 recipe pasta and lasagna sauce
- 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
- 8 ounces shredded mozzarella divided
- 4 ounces shredded fresh Parmesan
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 1 16- ounces Ricotta
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- To prepare Béchamel sauce, melt butter over medium-low heat in a medium saucepan. When melted, whisk in flour until combined. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly. Heat until bubbly and thickened to a medium consistency that coats the back of a spoon.
- To make things easier, I prefer to mix my Béchamel in with the red sauce. Once mixed, set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine 6 ounces shredded mozzarella (about 1 ¾ cup), the ricotta, the Parmesan, and the beaten egg.
- Using a ladle that measures ½ cup (or a ½ cup measuring cup), spread 1 cup of sauce onto the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Add 3 noodles. Spread a layer of the cheese mixture. Spread 1 ½ cups sauce and then repeat so you have 4 layers of noodles. You should end with a layer of sauce on top. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella (and some extra Parmesan if you have some left over).
- Cover tightly with foil and bake about 50 minutes.
- Remove from oven and remove foil. It will probably look a little runny. Don’t be scared–you still need to let it stand about 15-20 minutes. During that time, it will thicken up nicely and should hold up well when cut and served.
Nutrition
Calories: 340kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 21g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 90mg, Sodium: 654mg, Potassium: 438mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 868IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 337mg, Iron: 1mg
Calories: 340kcal
Cost: $24
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Questions & Reviews
I’ve been wanting to try a new lasagna recipe. This one was creamy and delicious.
Followed the tips from other comments and made sure the Bechemel sauce was cooked until thick enough before mixing into the red sauce. Didn’t seem like it would have much Italian flavor, I couldn’t help myself and I added 1 tsp. of Italian seasoning to the red sauce during the simmering part. Next time I may add some of my fresh basil to the ricotta cheese mixture. I put all the veggies in the food processor so my kids couldn’t detect them. I liked knowing there were some extra nutrients in there. I let it sit 20 minutes before cutting and serving and it sliced perfectly! I will make this again.
I love love love the pasta sauce for this lasagna, and I always make a double batch, but it is then difficult to determine how much of it to use for the lasagna. Ideas? About how much of the red sauce should I mix with the bechamel to make the lasagna?
I have been looking for a good lasagna recipe that my family will eat and decided to try this one. It was a hit with my husband and all five of my children. They all told me they LOVED it, so I will be keeping this recipe. It does take a little bit of time to make, but is not hard at all. I did not have the NO BOIL lasagna noodles, so just used regular noodles and it worked perfect since my sauce had plenty of liquid to cook the noodles during bake time. Also, I substituted cottage cheese for the ricotta and it tasted great. Thanks again for the great recipe!
I made this last week. It was amazing! I added a little bit of red pepper flakes (about 1/4 tsp), per another reviewer’s suggestion, and it added a tiny bit extra spice that I love. I split it into 2 8×8 glass pans. I used Barilla’s no-boil noodles and I only had room for 2 noodles per layer. I did 3 layers in each pan. It worked out perfectly! It didn’t boil over and make a mess, like other reviewers mentioned. My husband and 2 year old loved this as well! We are baking the frozen one for dinner tonight. I put the frozen lasagna into a cold oven and preheated it to 350. I will report back regarding how long it took to cook. Thanks again for a FAB recipe!!!!
I made this, and it was very good! Making it for dinner guests this weekend!
I loved this! So delicious and different than the usual lasagna. And my picky 4 and 6 (and 2 year old) gobbled this up!! It was a bit of work, but worth it! Thanks~
I made this last week for company. I am SO happy about all the secret veggies you can get into the kids with this!! I grated the zucchini just to make it even less noticeable. Great suggestion!! The leftovers were even better than the first night!! This is def a lasagna worth the time and effort!!!!
I LOVE this recipe. Yum. Just FYI- I calculated the Weight Watchers Points Plus Value as 8 ppv/serving. I think the points went up on the new program! A bit of a bummer, but still TOTALLY worth the 8 points.
I’ve seen a couple people comment that they split this recipe between 2 8×8 pans (for freezing). I want to do the same and have a silly question . . . Do you just break the no-boil noodles in half? Or are they short enough that you can still use them unbroken in an 8×8 pan?
Thanks!
Ok, So I LOVE this recipe. It’s our go-to when we make lasagna, BUT I have a huge problem. . . Mine never thickens up. My entire family still loves the flavor, so it hasn’t stopped us from making it, but what am I doing wrong? We’ve followed the recipe exactly at least a dozen times. I even cut back on the amount of sauce I used, and the lasagna came out a little dry… Help please!
Try cooking the Bechamel sauce a little longer so it thickens up more–that’s the key to getting the lasagna to thicken up!:)
Thanks so much! Tried it again, and it worked…. silly me.